Not everyone has a well established meditation practice, and that is okay.
We are all on a different journey and sometimes life feels too busy, or you feel like you're just one of those people that 'can't' meditate - also okay.
The simple practice of taking a few deep, conscious breaths can do more for your nervous system and your health than you may realise.
Diaphragmatic breathing otherwise known as deep belly breathing, allows for a greater exchange of incoming oxygen and outgoing carbon dioxide. This increase in oxygen, which from a Daoist perspective is referred to as Kong Qi (Air Qi), it is then extracted through the Lungs and transformed into Zong Qi (Gathering Qi) with the addition of the Qi gathered through the nourishment of our diet (Gu Qi). So to put it simply, this creates our daily Qi and we want to ensure an abundant flow of daily Qi so that we don't have to pull that energy from our 'savings account' - the Jing Essence within our Kidneys.
A few deep belly breaths every day can help to:
䷁ Reduce anxiety and promote a sense of calm
䷁ Increase energy
䷁ Relieve pain
䷁ Improve immune function
䷁ Lower blood pressure
䷁ Support digestive function
䷁ Stimulates the lymphatic system